Overall one of my most favorite mangas. Tasteful, heartwarming, but sometimes confusing (I really would appreciate some character wiki) but that doesn't lessen my enjoyment.

It started out like a typical friendship/slice-of-life/coming of age story. It looked like it would be about the warm, touching friendship between Ah-chan and Fumi as they rediscover each other after so many years apart. Then boom, Sugimoto-sempai appeared and took over the manga. Now the whole thing is just endless angst because everyone and their mother wants to get into Sugimoto's panties. She's such a *****, too.

So within one volume, Sweet Blue Flowers turned into one of those terrible soaps where A likes B, who is going out with C, oh no they just broke up, but B liked D all along but D is in love with B's sister, but A hasn't given up, but maybe B and C will get back together... in other words, terrible. I'm so disappointed, because Ah-chan is by far the most likeable character in the series, but she's been shunted to the side completely in favor of this ridiculous love decahedron.

What a waste of a good setting. I like the art and the character designs though, so 5/10.

Unlike other people, I like it slow. On top of that, it makes sense. I wish that this series were talking about adulthood 'cause every character seems really mature. I don't want the main character to be perfect. Dull is good.

... Last updated on July 14th, 2009, 7:43pm

I quite like Aoi Hana, I really can't lie about that. The characters are genuinely entertaining, and I have personal biased for slice of life pieces. The problem is that, at an objective standpoint, this really doesn't stand up very well. It's so slow paced that it alienates the reader, and unlike Hourou Musuko (another work the author is relatively famous for), the thematic presence and character development isn't strong enough to warrant a higher rating.

So, this is essentially one to treat with caution. If you like slice of life, you will like this piece. If you need to be constantly engaged, honestly, don't even bother.

I decided to read this becuase I liked another on of the author's works. The pace of Aoi Hana is a lot slower than Hourou Musuko, so I found it a little boring sometimes, but the I still wanted to find out what was going to happen next so that kept me reading. So far, I do like it though even if the pairings and who likes who seems a little unclear, but Hourou Musuko seems that same way sometimes, too.

Sweet Blue Flowers is even softer and more slice-of-life than Marimite, plus it has more overt yuri. While most of the relationships in Marimite are ambiguous deep friendships between girls with only a few crossing the territory into solid romance, SBF is obvious shojo-ai, with a confirmed lesbian relationship established in the first chapter, and almost every female character has at least a chance at a yuri romance. However, its weaknesses are also more pronounced than Marimite's: both series have an extremely soft feel bordering on unrealism. As any cynicist or realist will tell you, few people have high school experiences as easy as the one shown in SBF, and the expectation that life, especially female life, should be portrayed as relatively graceful and unfrantic at all times is something that will strike a nerve with many different readers, including me. What makes Marimite a better series than SBF is character development. Originally beginning as a novel series with dozens of volumes, Marimite used its long length to flesh out its characters so all of them are three-dimensional. Sachiko strikes the right balance between intensity and sweetness, Sei is simaltaneously the deepest and most humorous in the series, and Shimako's quiet strength belies a steadfast determination to retain her independence while staying close to her friends. These are just the three best examples. As a manga, SBF doesn't quite flesh out its characters as well. Fumi is the shy girl, her lover from the first volume is a cool butch, Ah-chan is the cheerful, and they're charismatic, but that's really all they are.

Some stories are told for making a point. Some deliberately incite a reaction from the reader. Some just ramble with no point.

Somehow, Aoi Hana is none of those. It's the definition of "slice of life". Like the epitome of the genre. This is life, through the eyes of these kids. It doesn't shy away from anything. And it's all told with amazing clarity in a beautifully artistic manner.

Some of the situations in this story seem pretty messed up. Actually, a number of times, I remember kind of having this "holy crap" feeling - pity for the characters going through the events in this story. But none of this is really inconcievable, just ... serious.

I feel like all I'm really capable of saying about this title will either be gushing appreciation, or rambling. Nevertheless, this is some amazing storytelling. Perfect 10 -- definitely check it out.

... Last updated on June 22nd, 2009, 11:44pm

I don't usually go for yuri, but this one is really good, I loved the characters and the drama <3 Love the scanlators <3

I thought the character design looked familiar. Sure enough, the author, Takako Shimura, also did Hourou Musuko, another manga that deals with school-aged kids dealing with their blooming sexuality in a sensitive, tasteful way. I keep waiting for more chapters of both mangas to be scanlated. Go, Kotonoha, Lililicious!

I found all the characters delicious so far. Each one of them has their own history and issues to work through. All different sorts of sexual identities are beginning to be explored (we're talking about feelings here... though it says "yuri" there, it's not that kind of manga. Shoujo-ai might be a fairer description). It really is a very sweet romance manga with an added layer of confusion for the characters. And just like in Hourou Musuko, I find myself rooting for all the characters at the same time, they're all so charming!

On a side note, I really have to disagree with Anonymous back there... a shallow slut? For meeting a girl, then a while later going on a date, then a while later sharing a kiss? Huh? That was a rather harsh, uncalled for judgement, and a totally inaccurate one as it turns out when you read the chapters that were released after that comment was posted. In other words, don't let that comment sway you, give this cute, touching manga a shot!

This is a very sweet manga, and the character designs are really cute. I'm looking forward for the next volume. ^^